this post for alton brown's pancakes was originally posted in march 2016! the pictures have been updated.
if someone’s going to be making breakfast at home, it’s usually my dad. weekend mornings consist of omelettes (usually with cheddar cheese, sometimes with smatterings of other things in the house- leftover caramelized onions, basil, tomatoes, avocado, mushrooms, etc), challah french toast, or alton brown's pancakes, tall and golden and studded with 5 chocolate chips each (exactly 5- he refuses to add anymore, and the rest of us would riot if he used less).
let’s talk toppings real quick before i let you go. my dad does chocolate chips or plain (at which point there’s usually a bowl of maple syrup on the table for dipping). for the batch photographed here, i did chocolate chips cooked into the pancakes, with a plop of whipped cream, chocolate shavings and raspberries on top. chocolate chip and blueberries is also a really nice combo; you get the sweet chocolate and the sweet/tart berries. plain ones doused in melted butter and brown sugar is equally unreal, and if you were trying to channel my cousin, the one with whom i had a standing tuesday baking date with (ahhh, those were the days, when there was weekday baking) as a kid and made countless batches of chocolate chip cookies with, you’d do the brown sugar/butter combo over chocolate chip pancakes. for lunch. enough said. or chopped crispy bacon, diced apple/pear/stone fruit/berries, dried cherries/apricots, toasted almonds/pecans/macadamias, you name it, it’ll pass with flying colors. except for maybe apple and kielbasa pancakes, which are as weird as they sound, but i bet you knew that already.
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ⅙ tablespoon kosher salt
- ⅓ tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter melted and cooled
- 1 cup buttermilk room temperature
- fruit, chocolate chips, or other toppings
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Combine all ingredients. Use within 3 months.
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Whisk the egg and butter in a bowl, then whisk in the buttermilk.
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Add to the pancake mix. Whisk until just combined. Don't worry about the lumps.
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Ladle onto the griddle and sprinkle on toppings. Press in the toppings gently. When bubbles begin to set around the edges and the bottom is golden, flip. Cook until set.
From Alton Brown.
more breakfast goodies besides alton brown's pancakes
healthy baked oatmeal with apples and blueberries
Laura says
Heather, these look divine! All good pancake recipes (that I know) are made with buttermilk - it’s the key to fluffy and light! These look amazing and I love Alton!
Heather says
buttermilk makes all the difference! tried using coconut milk for a few batches when i wanted to do coconut pancakes, and i've never had gummier pancakes lol.
Maria | kitchenathoskins says
Love all things Alton makes ( you know we go by first name basis ....lol). Can't go wrong with a tall stack of buttermilk pancakes. These look fabulous!
Connie says
Hey Alton, love your recipe, but I have been making my version for decades and believe it is slightly better. Mine has more protein and fiber with a few little tweeks to your recipe. I add 1/2 cup quick cook oats to the milk and let them soak for a couple of minutes. Also I use 2 eggs instead of one. Also I double the baking powder and use 1 tsp to one cup milk and 1/2 tsp. baking soda. And I don't use any stinking toppings.
Heather says
hi connie, thanks for stopping by! this is alton brown's recipe that i've reposted (so alton brown probably won't see this post, though that would be cool!). glad you could find a version that works for you (:
cole says
it was good; we used wheat flour instead and they came out kind of dense. Next time we will use regular flour and see if it changes it.
although, even with completely ignoring key parts of the recipe and
overall despite the hurdles, I will give it three stars
Rob says
Im also a lover of Altons recipe for Buttermilk pancakes. Just curious if he changed the Recipe? I have the cookbook and its an important step in the cookbook i have, that the egg gets separated. white gets mixed with buttermilk, yolk gets mixed with butter, then recombined. ensures a proper mix of all ingredients 🙂